Christopher Wimmer

Refugees escaping the area around Tal Rifaat, fleeing towards Raqqa, 2 December 2024.

Syria: Rojava is under fire

Christopher Wimmer — Assad is gone, but the war in northern Syria rages on.
Oil pumps operating in Rojava. Photo: Christopher Wimmer

Rojava’s difficult transformation

Rojava — or, as the region is officially called, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) — has become a positive point of reference for social change for many on the Left. AANES is a multi-ethnic society that has had its own autonomous government since the Rojava Revolution in July 2012.